The US government-linked International Republican Institute formed an army of student protesters, NGOs, LGBTQ influencers & rappers to rally in Bangladesh and remove Sheikh Hasina. Was it all because she denied the US a military base? Let’s explore.
The Gray Zone has seen leaked files that indicate the International Republican Institute cooperated with the US govt to create a “power shift” in Bangladesh – culminating in the toppling of elected PM Sheikh Hasina.
Footage showed students storming the presidential palace and celebrating the end of what Western media had dubbed as fascism in Dhaka. Then came the interim PM.
Muhammad Yunus, a Clinton Global Initiative fellow and Nobel Prize winner with a sketchy past in micro-lending, was now the leader. The US laughed off allegations it had any hand in his appointment or Sheikh Hasina’s ousting.
And then, last week, Yunus stood on stage next to Bill Clinton and revealed to the world the colour revolution was a “meticulously designed” plan that took a long time.
The IRI, as the Gray Zone reveals, has been operating in Bangladesh since the early 2000s.
In documents marked “confidential and/or privileged,” it’s claimed the IRI spent millions of dollars coaching opposition parties and creating a regime-change network of “urban youth” influencers – giving them the online tools.
The outlet stresses that the 🇺🇸 GOP-run subsidiary has fueled regime change operations globally since its creation by CIA Director William Casey some four decades ago.
Flashback to 2018, when Dhaka’s streets were mobbed by thousands demanding stricter road safety laws. The govt caved.
It provided a key training ground, it’s claimed, with student demonstrations swelling after the taste of victory. While trivial at the time, months and years later it stoked riots and a violent clampdown by police.
Analysts have linked the protests to online bot armies and social media movements – exactly what IRI stresses is important for a power shift.
In 2019, the IRI reportedly identified 170 activists in a report given to the US State Dept. It also mentions Hasina’s “lopsided” victory and that its campaign was being ramped up, partly due to the Opposition BNP failing to mobilise support.
A separate internal report titled, “Social Media, Protest, and Reform in Bangladesh’s Digital Era” gave an idea of what was to come, the Gray Zone writes: “Moving forward, IRI intends to expand its work with college students across the country.”
IRI used transgender events, music festivals, TV, and much more.
The ground army and the message had been created. All that was left was to storm the castle.
This article is based on an X thread by RT_India.
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